sidewinder 3d calibration?

[IrishFBall32]

alright, i know the old MS Sidewinder 3d joysticks are a sought after commodity around here, and i happen to have one laying around (from back when they originally came out)... i figured i would put it to use as a "no drift" joystick for out OI, but when i connected it up and read the values in dashboard i was getting something around 70 when centered instead of the expected 128... AFAIK i had the joy set to emulate an analog joystick, and i know the pinouts are standard... any ideas why its being weird? is there some kind of internal calibration i can do in the sidewinder?

[Joshua May]

Originally Posted by IrishFBall32

alright, i know the old MS Sidewinder 3d joysticks are a sought after commodity around here, and i happen to have one laying around (from back when they originally came out)... i figured i would put it to use as a "no drift" joystick for out OI, but when i connected it up and read the values in dashboard i was getting something around 70 when centered instead of the expected 128... AFAIK i had the joy set to emulate an analog joystick, and i know the pinouts are standard... any ideas why its being weird? is there some kind of internal calibration i can do in the sidewinder?

If I understand you correctly, the trims are off. These are a common annoyance with joysticks. The two cylinders next to the joystick on the base can be turned, and you'll have to experimentally adjust them until both the x and y values on the joystick read 127.

[IrishFBall32]

Originally Posted by Joshua May

If I understand you correctly, the trims are off. These are a common annoyance with joysticks. The two cylinders next to the joystick on the base can be turned, and you'll have to experimentally adjust them until both the x and y values on the joystick read 127.

in a normal scenario, that would be the case, but the sidewinders use digital (opto i think) sensors internally instead of pots, therefore they dont need adjusted and dont drift... in theory... the way the work with the OI involves emulating a pot IIRC...

i would just crack em open and look for trims or something inside, but im not about to do that when i dont have a ready replacement in case something goes wrong

[ConKbot of Doom]

Originally Posted by IrishFBall32

i would just crack em open and look for trims or something inside, but im not about to do that when i dont have a ready replacement in case something goes wrong

Well if they arent working as of now, you won't really be in that much worse of a spot if they break, will you?

[BrianBSL]

From playing with my Sidewinder 3D Pro, I think I came to the conclusion that it outputs varying voltage in analog mode rather than varying resistance that the OI is looking for, causing values that aren't very usable. There are no trims, because the optical sensors in the unit look for changes instead of absolute position, meaning it automatically re-trims itself to center.